John Boehner: Immigration reform difficult in 2014

Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that immigration reform would be difficult to pass in 2014 because his Republican colleagues and the American people don’t trust President Barack Obama.

“The president seems to change the health care law on a whim, whenever he likes,” Boehner said to reporters in the Capitol. “Now he’s running around the country, telling everyone that he’s going to keep acting on his own. He’s talking about his phone and his pen and he’s feeding more distrust about whether he’s committed to the rule of law. There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce the law.

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Boehner is perhaps the biggest supporter of immigration reform within Republican leadership. His comments illustrate that he is seeking to dampen expectations that legislation can get passed and signed into law in 2014 — and he wants to shift the blame to Obama.

“I think the president’s going to have to demonstrate to the American people and my colleagues that he can be trusted to enforce the law as it was written,” he said. One way to do so, Boehner said, would be to urge Senate Democrats to take up House-passed job training and research legislation.

Boehner’s public remarks Thursday echo the private and public sentiment of many members of the House and GOP leadership. Obama’s promise that he would act unilaterally by way of executive action if Congress remains paralyzed has deepened the distrust in the conservative House.

Still, Democrats are skeptical of that argument and are prodding Republicans to act on immigration reform — anxious for them to move after GOP leadership last week released a one-page list of broad principles.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) almost immediately dismissed Boehner’s arguments that the Republican distrust of the president would be an impediment to doing immigration reform this year. At a news conference, she said in response to Boehner’s remarks: “Why don’t we just pack up and go home?”

“What we’re supposed to do is legislate, and not make up excuses as to why we don’t,” she said. “That’s not a reason not to do an immigration bill. That’s an excuse not to do it and around here, you have to always differentiate between what is a reason and what is an excuse.”

Still, Pelosi said she believed Boehner was trying to work in “good faith” to try to do immigration reform this year.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters following Boehner’s remarks that the speaker was simply articulating the political realities of immigration reform passing Congress this year. He said he wasn’t discouraged by Boehner’s comments.

“He has not said, ‘I’m not doing it, he’s not said ‘it’s over,’” said Schumer, who shepherded the “Gang of Eight” bill through the Senate last year. “He has said it will be very difficult. It is — he’s right. I agree with him!”

Republican leadership did take a step last week toward immigration reform, releasing a one-page memo detailing the vague principles that would guide the process. The reaction from rank-and-file Republicans has been largely mixed, with a large faction of conservatives resisting action, particularly in an election year.

Despite his remarks Thursday, Boehner stressed that reform is an issue that “needs to get done.”

“I’m going to continue to talk to my members about how to move forward, but the president is going to have to do his part as well,” Boehner said.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the administration was still “optimistic” about the chances of immigration reform this year. He also ruled out any chance of Obama using his executive authority to enact changes in immigration policy, saying there is “no alternative” to legislation that comprehensively overhauls the nation’s immigration system.

“We continue to see positive progress and we’re going to work with Congress,” Carney said.